RAP Resource Center
Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP): Get More Value From Your Material
Your RAP contains valuable aggregate and asphalt binder. Learn how processing, usable yield and RAP utilization can affect what that material is worth.
Reclaimed asphalt pavement is more than recycled material sitting in a stockpile. It contains valuable aggregate and asphalt binder that can replace virgin materials in new asphalt production.
The question is not simply whether you use RAP.
It’s how much value you’re actually getting from it.
Whether you’re looking to increase RAP utilization, improve material consistency, reduce unwanted fines, or better understand the economics behind your stockpile, Hitek’s RAP Resource Center is designed to help you make more informed processing decisions.
RAP Is an Asset
RAP can reduce the amount of virgin aggregate and virgin asphalt binder required to produce new asphalt mixtures.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, RAP is a valuable, high-quality material capable of replacing more expensive virgin aggregate and binder when properly processed and incorporated into asphalt mixtures. Current NAPA data says U.S. producers recycled about 101.4 million tons of RAP into new asphalt mixtures in 2024, replacing about 96 million tons of virgin aggregate and conserving an estimated 27.9 million barrels of virgin asphalt binder.
But the value of RAP depends heavily on what happens between the stockpile and the plant.
Binder Value
Every usable ton of RAP contains aged asphalt binder that may reduce the amount of virgin binder required in a new mix.
Aggregate Value
Properly processed RAP can replace a portion of the virgin aggregate entering the plant.
Usable Yield
Not every ton of RAP entering a processing system necessarily becomes desirable finished material. Processing method, sizing, moisture, contamination and fines can all affect usable yield.
Consistency
More consistent RAP makes it easier to control gradation, binder contribution and mix production.
What Is Your RAP Actually Worth?
You already know what you paid for virgin aggregate and liquid asphalt.
Our RAP Value Calculator helps put those numbers together and estimate what improved RAP utilization or recovery could mean financially for your operation.
Enter your own material costs, production volume and RAP usage to see the potential value.
Explore RAP
Better RAP Starts With Better Processing
How RAP is reduced, sized, screened and handled can directly affect the material you ultimately have available for your asphalt plant.
Learn about RAP processing methods, excessive fines, gradation, stockpile management, moisture, screening and the differences between crushing and shredding.
RAP Specifications, Research & Best Practices
Explore the technical factors that affect how much value your plant recovers from RAP, with practical explanations and references to Federal Highway Administration guidance.
Learn about:
- Aggregate preservation and unnecessary stone fracture
- Excess fines and mix-design constraints
- Binder recovery and potential virgin binder savings
- RAP percentage versus reclaimed binder ratio
- Fractionation and control of coarse and fine products
- Moisture and drying-energy demand
A Different Approach to RAP Processing
Traditional RAP processing often relies heavily on crushing.
CAMS approaches the problem differently.
The CAMS Centauro is designed to shred and size RAP rather than relying solely on conventional impact crushing. The objective is simple: produce usable, consistent RAP while minimizing unnecessary degradation of the material.
For producers trying to increase the value they recover from their RAP stockpile, processing deserves just as much attention as the mix itself.
